WIMBLEDON.- With a scent of revenge and an early ending, the Serbian Novak Djokovic and the Italian Jannik Sinner They will face each other on Friday for a place in the final of Wimbledonfive months after having met in the semifinals of the Australian Openwith the victory of the Balkan.
Current champion of the London tournament, Sinner (No. 1 in the world) is the clear favorite in the predictions for the semifinal with Djokovic.
But when the victory against the Canadian started on Tuesday Felix Auger-Aliassime At the end of the longest quarterfinal in the history of the tournament (5h15), Djokovic recalled how hungry he is still for that 25th title. grand slaman absolute record, which he pursues tirelessly at 39 years old.
His doubtful start to the tournament against the Chinese is now far away Wu Yibing (102nd) or the small warning on the left calf against Auger-Aliassime: in Grand Slam, “Novak Djokovic can never be excluded” from the list of candidates, said the German Tommy Haasformer world number 2.
Djokovic’s five-set victory in Melbourneafter five consecutive defeats against Sinner, “has given him a lot of confidence”, estimates the former French player turned commentator, Fabrice Santoro.
Power tank status
Seven-time Wimbledon champion, Djokovic defeated Sinner in the semifinals on the hard court in Melbourne at the Australian Openwhich he has won ten times, before falling in the final against the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz.
The difficulty of successively defeating the two best current players is, by the way, the main obstacle that stands between Djokovic and a 25th major trophy, the tennis player himself repeats ad nauseum. Belgrade.
Injured to his right wrist, Alcaraz is out this year in London. If he beats Sinner, Djokovic would face the world number 3 in the final, Alexander Zverevor to the British revelation of the tournament, Arthur Fery (114º).
It remains to be seen how much strength the Serbian will have left on Friday after a grueling quarter-final.
In Australia, “it was the first big tournament of the year, I had arrived fresher,” Djokovic said.
Since then, he has had to deal with a right shoulder injury and disappointing results on clay.
Relentless winner of the top five Masters 1000 of the season, Sinner suffered, in turn, a brutal physical decline under the overwhelming heat of the first week of Roland Garros.
Féry, the surprise of the tournament
Eliminated in the second round in Paris While Alcaraz was already out of the game, Sinner, patron of the circuit, thus missed a magnificent opportunity to win the only Grand Slam title that still eludes him.
Arriving in London without having played any preparation tournament on grass, Sinner needed five sets to win in the first round of Wimbledon against the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (50º).
Since then he has not faced such a tight duel again, but even so he has not dispelled all doubts.
With more than 30°C expected on Friday at Wimbledon, the heat could also play a determining role in the outcome of the match, although Sinner hardly seemed to suffer from the high temperatures on Tuesday in the quarterfinals, where he defeated the German in three sets. Jan-Lennard Struff (74th).
Against Djokovic, whom he has beaten six times in eleven meetings, “each match has its own story,” says the Italian.
In the second semi-final they will face the British of French origin Arthur Fery against the recent Roland Garros champion, Zverev.
The German has never won a tournament on grass, while Féry will have the support of the fans of the All England Club.
